Presently, slide assemblies are utilized as the mounting hardware between a component and a rack within which the component may be stored. For example, if the component is an electronic component such as a server, then the use of a rack allows for a plurality of servers to be utilized with efficiency of storage, and convenience of accessibility. In many cases, the rack may have a back panel to which the electronic components can connect. Thereby allowing the components to receive their power connections, network connections, phone connections, and the like.
In general, the use of slide assemblies allows for a simple way to hold a component or plurality of components within the rack which also offers convenient access. For example, when a slide assembly is used then the component may be slid completely into the rack during normal function and slid partially out of the rack for maintenance. Therefore, once the component is mounted within the rack, there is no need to remove the component from the rack. This type of slide assembly becomes very useful when the component is heavy, cumbersome, fragile, or the like. For example, if the component is a server which is extremely heavy, then instead of two or more technicians or power assisting machinery being required to perform routine maintenance on the server, a lone technician may simply slide the server partially out of the rack thereby gaining access to the server while allowing the rack to support the weight.
When a component is initially prepared to be mounted on the rack, the inner most slide member may be mounted to the component. The inner most slide member and the component may then be positioned for insertion into the desired outer member of the slide assembly which has been mounted to the rack. The component and inner slide are then integrated with the rest of the telescoping slide assembly and the weight of the component is supported by the rack.
However, one deleterious effect of utilizing a slide assembly in conjunction with a rack is the possibility of the incorrect alignment of the slide assembly during the mounting of the component within the rack. Specifically, the difference between a correctly aligned inner slide and an incorrectly aligned inner slide may be as little as three-eighths of an inch. This distance is negligible when the mass and shape of the component being mounted are taken into account. For example, if the component is two feet wide and weighs 50 pounds, three-eighths of an inch may be imperceptible to the person mounting the component. Furthermore, an installer usually stands in front of the rack and therefore may not be able to see that the inner slide isn't actually entering the lead-ins of the intermediate or outer slide, but instead fails to couple with the lead-ins. Thus, the component is not attached and the installer is not aware of that fact.
If the inner member of the slide assembly is incorrectly mounted there are a plurality of possible outcomes. The best case is the component being inserted drops onto another component within the rack and little or no damage occurs. The worst case is the component being inserted drops and causes the catastrophic destruction of any other components within the rack and even the rack itself. Such destruction may result in extreme monetary losses as well as possible injury to any personnel in the area during the time of the catastrophic failure.
Thus, during the installation process more than one person is needed to ensure correct installation is accomplished with a minimization of damage. For example, during the installation of a component, one technician may be needed to support the weight of the component and insert the component into the rack, while a second technician may be needed to correctly align the slide assemblies. Both technicians would need to work in conjunction in order not to damage the rack, the slide assembly, components already in the rack, and/or the component being placed in the rack.
Consequently, the installation process is not user friendly, is time-consuming, is easily miss-installed, is dangerous, is cost associative, and lacks a desired “Design for Usability.”